Page 59 of Broken Pieces
He comes back quickly with the sweet, hot cocoas—mine with extra marshmallows—and the gesture is small, but sweet nonetheless. He just remembers these small stupid details I tell him like it’s no big deal.
As we drink them, we start talking about things we’ve never done, or places we’ve never visited.
“I’ve never snowboarded before,” I say.
“I actually have. Me, Lorenzo, and Matteo go almost every year to Colorado.”
I hum. “Colorado. Sounds pretty.”
“You’ve never been?”
I shake my head. “I lived in Kentucky my whole life, studied there, and then moved to Chicago. I just started traveling recently.”
“I can probably talk Lorenzo and Matteo into inviting you girls to the trip next year. Well, at least you and Sophia. I doubt Isabella will want to be where Matteo is.”
“Rough history?” I ask, curious. Me and Isabella have never talked about her past, except the fact that she graduated top of her class at MIT.
“You could say that,” he responds vaguely.
The second skating session starts and we start right away before it starts getting any busier.
I skate backward as I instruct him. “Don’t forget to bend your knees, otherwise you will fall on your ass, and you’re going to hate your life tomorrow.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this. The things I do to spend time with you, seriously,” he murmurs with a soft, hearty laugh that makes my skin prickle with goosebumps.
My cheeks blush at that confession, and my mind wanders off to God knows where after hearing that, and I bump into the railing, causing me to fall forward, almost hitting my head.
Damian stops with the railing, then tries to scrunch down to the best of his ability. “You okay?”
I groan as I get up. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Don’t forget to bend your knees,” he says, mimicking me.
I flip him off as we both start laughing.
We continue skating for one more hour, laughing my ass off every time he falls and refuses my help trying to get up, which results in us standing in the same place for five minutes as he figures it out. By the end of the session, he’s finally getting it, and we actually end up having a lot of fun.
We laugha lot. Fun and simple, like it always is when he starts to bring his walls down little by little. Seeing his shoulders relax and that gorgeous smile has quicklybecome my undoing. Little by little, Damian has found his way into my heart, and I can’t even say I was blindsided, because deep down, my heart always knew.
And that knowledge scares me.
As I was taking my skates off and returning them to the rental stand, Aria went to one of the food stalls and got the biggest cream cheese pretzel she could find, and to top it off, she made me eat half of it. I’m not even mad. That shit was fucking delicious.
I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun, in like, well, ever. Sure, I go on vacations once a year, and I go out with Lorenzo and Matteo from time to time, but this is different. She has this way of making me feel light and relaxed, naturally sharing her positive energy, making the people around her just be… better.
And I’m just a simple man who wants to follow her wherever she goes.
She makes me want to become a better person. It’s as simple as that. With her, I can do the impossible.
To actually, truly, be happy for once.
Never in a million years did I think that was a possibility. It’s not that I’m unhappy with my life, but I’ve always been just content, but unfulfilled. Always looking for the next best thing, trying to fill that dread and emptiness that rests deep inside of me.
Except when I’m with her.
All I want to do is make these moments last forever, put us in a bubble, and just…be.
She groans, limping. “I don’t know why we skated before going to the museum. I’m beat.”
